Light firearm mount

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a light firearm mount fastened around a waistband or belt and includes an inclined pedestal having a Jshaped lip which is insertable into the gun&#39;&#39;s barrel for providing both a bottom support and vertical stabilization. Two clips extend laterally from the pedestal to provide a first lateral support for the barrel and a second lateral support for an intermediate portion of the firearm. A belt clamp having two laterally spaced clamp arms is fastened around the user&#39;&#39;s belt. The belt clamp can form integral part with the pedestal.

United States Patent Hendricks [451 Feb. 15,1972

[54] LIGHT FIREARM MOUNT [72] Inventor: Clarence E. Hendricks, 10727 Glenfield Ct., Houston, Tex. 77034 [22] Filed: Feb. 24, 1970 [2:] Appl. No.2 13,552

[52] U.S. Cl. ..224/2 C [51] Int. Cl. ..F4le 33/02 [58] Field of Search ..224/2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.4, 5, 224/52 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Parrish.....

Preneta .224/ 2.3

2,434,380 l/1948 Williams ..224/2.2

2,956,715 10/1960 Henderson. 3,353,728 11/1967 Freed ..224/l Primary ExaminerRobert G. Sheridan- Attomey--Michae1 P. Breston [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a light firearm mount fastened around a waistband or belt and includes an inclined pedestal having a .l-shaped lip which is insertable into the guns barrel for providing both a bottom support and vertical stabilization. Two clips extend laterally from the pedestal to provide a first lateral support for the barrel and a second lateral support for an intermediate portion of the firearm. A belt clamp having two laterally spaced clamp arms is fastened around the users belt. The belt clamp can form integral part with the pedestal.

10 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures mmmm 3.642.184

SHEET 1 [IF 2 V Clarence E. Hendricks INVENTOR BY Michael P. Breston ATTORNEY PAIENTEDFEB 15 I972 SHEET 2 0F 2 FIG. 6

Clarn ce E. Hendricks /N VE N TOR BY Michael P. Breston ATTORNEY LIGHT FIREARM MOUNT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Police officers are required to carry a firearm at all times whether they are on or off duty. Obviously, the firearm should be as well concealed as possible. The device for carrying the firearm should be light, comfortable, and provide a minimum bulk to the firearm itself. Above all the device should maintain the firearm in a position from which it may be easily drawn and fired from almost any body position between prone and standing in the least possible time.

Existing holsters, various hooks and gadgets designed for wearing the firearm both insideand outside the waistband of the trousers all have certain disadvantages: Leather holsters worn either inside or out almost double the bulk of the firearm, making effective concealment virtually impossible; wearing the firearm inside the waistband without a holster provides good concealment, but is uncomfortable. It also allows the firearm to slip out of position, becomingdifficult to grasp quickly. In addition, body moisture, acids and salt make rust a constant problem. The slipping problem can be a]- leviated by various hooks and clips, but the discomfort and rust cannot.

Some recently proposed gun supports, while lightweight and inexpensive, are uncomfortable to the wearer and if not secured by means of a safety strap an attacker can easily take possession of the weapon.

Accordingly, it is a main object of the present invention to provide an improved firearm mount which isrelatively inexpensive to manufacture, and which obviates the above and other known drawbacks ofprior art gun supports.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved gun mount which can be easily and yet securely fastened around the users belt. With light pressure provided by the user's body, the clamp and the weapon remain securely fastened.

It is a further object of this invention, due to the unique (twist lock) design of the belt-fastening device, to'enable'the wearer to attach and detach both the weapon and the'mount with a simple twisting motion without the necessity of unfastening the belt.

Yet, it is still a further object of this invention to provide such a new and improved gun mount which features a threepoint suspension, which maintains the firearm around the waist of the user at the proper angle for weapon to be drawn from either a prone, sitting, or standing position, inno way interfering with normal body movement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A firearm mount is provided which is fastened around a waistband or belt of a user. The mount includes an inclined pedestal having a J-shaped lip which is insertable into the guns barrel for providing a bottom support and vertical stabilization. Two clips extend laterally from the pedestal to provide a first lateral support for the barrel and a second lateral support for an intermediate portion of the firearm. The clips may be formed from a single strip which is secured to the pedestal, or they may extend from the pedestal. A belt clamp having two laterally spaced clamp arms is fastened around the users belt. The belt clamp can preferably form integral part with the pedestal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a view in perspective of one embodiment of the invention supported on the belt ofa user;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the hand gun mount with the outlines of the sidearm indicated by dashed lines;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are views on lines 3-3 and 4-4 in FIG. 2, respectively;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 wherein the sidearm mount is adapted for use with a revolver;

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of the sidearm mount shown in FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views in FIG. 6 on lines 77 respectively.

Referring now to the embodimentshown in FIGS. 1 through 4, a handgun mount is generally designated as 10. It includes an inclined gun pedestal 12, the lower end of which is J- shaped to provide a lip 14. The longitudinal axis of the pedestal has an inclination angle a relative to the vertical which varies from 15 to 60, depending on the design of the particular handgun being supported.

Extending laterallyfrom pedestal 12 is a first clip 16 having a substantially U-shaped cross section to fit around the barrel 18 of the handgun 20. Extending laterally from pedestal 12, but in an opposite direction, is a second clip 22 the free end of which is also U-shaped. Clip 22 isadapted for supporting an intermediate portion of the gun 20. Clip 22 is wrapped around the trigger guard 24.

Thus, the mount 10 of this invention provides a three-point suspension for the handgun 20. The triangular suspension snugly wraps around the lower portion of the handgun and allows a desirable amount of air circulation between the metal part of the firearm and the body of the user, thereby preventing the formation of rust.

Clips 16 and 22 are longitudinally displaced and are welded to pedestal 12. While the gun mount 10 so far described is adequate to securely support a gun, clamp means generally designated as 25, must be provided to fasten pedestal 12 to the users belt 1 l. A convenient manner of making such a clamp is to extend and form the upper end of pedestal 12 into a clamp arm 26 which is angularly displaced from the longitudinal axis of-pedestal 12 by the angle a. The arm 26 is J-shaped as shown and provides an upwardly pointing lip 27. Another clamp arm and 88,

28 extends from the clip 22 downwardly then upwardly and terminates in an upside down .I-shaped lip 30.

As best shown in FIG. 2, belt 11 extends between clamp arm 26, pedestal l2, and clamp arm 28, with lips 27 and 30 engaging opposite sides of the belt. The portion 32 of the belt extending between clamp arms 26 and 28 assumes a curvilinear shape, and light pressure from the body locks clamp 25 in position to avoid lateral sliding on the belt, and up-and-down rocking of the gun support 10. Additionally, as best seen from FIG. 1, when the firearm 20 is inserted into the triangular suspension on the pedestal lip 14 which snugly fits into the open end 34 of the guns barrel 18, the open end 34 lines up substantially vertically with the tip 38 of the guns grip 40, thereby allowing the gun 20 to be drawn out of the mount 10 in a direction, as shown by arrow 42. This is the preferred, draw direction from which mount 10 offers practically no resistance to the draw by the user. But, should an attacker attempt to draw gun 20 out of mount 10, the gun 20 will effectively bind on the three-point suspension. I

Accordingly, the desired objects of the present invention are accomplished effectively and economically by providing a unitary construction which is both lightweight and sturdy. The

material used for making mount 10 is preferably a strong, noncorrosive metal, such as aluminum, stainless steel, nickel, etc. To protect both the bore of barrel'l8 and the finish of the firearm 20, those portions of mount 10 which contact the firearm 20 should be covered with a flexible material, such as leather or plastic.

In FIGS. 5-8 is shown another embodiment of the invention which is particularly adapted for supporting a revolver 51 having a cylinder 50. Similar parts are designated with identical reference characters as in FIGS. 1-4. It will be noted that the construction of clamp 25 in the embodiment of FIG. 5 is substantially similar to the clamp construction shown in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 1. Also, the second clip 22 forms integral part with the first clip 16. Both clips are made out of one strip of metal 52 which is fastened, as by welding to pedestal 12. Additionally, pedestal 12 is shown to include two offsets 54 and 56 to better accommodate a particular configuration of the supported gun. The number of such offsets and their exact locations will depend on the guns peculiar construction. In all other material respects the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 5 are similar.

It will be appreciated that while the embodiments were illustrated with particular reference to a right-hand user, they can be easily adapted for a left-hand user by merely changing the angular orientation of pedestal 12 with respect to the vertical. The supported gun is accessible to the user from either a sitting or standing position.

Because of the substantially vertical alignment of the barrels free end 34 with the tip 38 of the guns grip 40, the grip will not protrude from the user's side or to the rear upon sitting, bending forward, or rising. Also since the handgun is nested in the contour of the waistline, the users body effectively conceals the gun. The gun can becarried as close to the users body and with whatever firmness as may be desired, by merely adjusting the tension in belt 11. The lateral displacement between clamp arms 26 and 28 tends to stabilize the mount and to provide a distributed load on the belt, thereby exerting a firm even pressure over the entire side surface of the weapon, as well as against the wearer's side. Once barrel 18 of the gun is freed from the retaining lip 14, the gun can be easily lifted from the mount 10 in the draw direction 42.

It will be appreciated from the preceding description that known sidearm supports inadequately conceal relatively largeframe automatic sidearms or revolvers. Other known supports may cause great discomfort to the user or wearer. As a result, when concealment is a factor, relatively small weapons had to be carried.

In accordance with this invention, however, such relatively large weapons can be adequately concealed in an accessible position and under ordinary street wear, thereby providing greater firing power and accuracy to wearers.

What is claimed is:

l. A firearm mount for attaching a sidearm to a waistline support, said mount comprising:

an elongated, substantially flat pedestal having at its lower end an upwardly extending lip adapted to snugly fit inside the bore of the barrel of said firearm;

at least two, laterally extending, substantially flat clips, one

on each side of said pedestal;

said two clips and said lip forming a triangular suspension for said firearm when inserted into said mount; and

clamp means connected to said pedestal for releasably clamping said mount on said support, the longitudinal axis of said clamp means and the longitudinal axis of said pedestal forming an acute angle 04, thereby allowing said firearm to be drawn from either a sitting or standing position.

2. The mount of claim 1 wherein,

said clamp means includes at least two rigid clamp arms horizontally spaced from each other when said mount is clamped on said support.

3. The mount of claim 2 wherein at least one of said clips is formed from a single, flat metal strip forming an integral extensions of said pedestal.

4. The mount of claim 2 wherein, said clips are vertically displaced from each other relative to the longitudinal axis of said pedestal.

5. The mount of claim 2 wherein, one of said clamp arms forms an upwardly extending lip, and the other of said clamp arms forms a downwardly extending lip thereby allowing said support to become easily insertable in and out of said clamp means without detaching said support from the waistline of the sidearm wearer.

6. The mount of claim 5 wherein, at least a portion of said pedestal is offset from the longitudinal to accommodate a particular configuration of said firearm.

7. The mount of claim 6 wherein,

said firearm is a revolver,

one of said clips engages the barrel of said revolver, and

the other of said clips supports the portion of said revolver below its cylinder.

8. The mount ofclaim 2 wherein,

one of said clips snugly fits around the barrel of said firearm,

and

the other of said clips engages the trigger guard of said firearm.

9. A firearm mount for attaching a sidearm to a waistline support, said mount comprising:

an elongated pedestal having at its lower end an upwardly extending lip adapted to snugly fit inside the bore of the barrel 0 f said firearm;

at least two laterally extending clips, one on each side of said pedestal;

said two clips and said lip forming a triangular suspension for said firearm when inserted into said mount;

clamp means connected to said pedestal for releasably clamping said mount on said support;

said pedestal being connected at an angle relative to said clamp means, thereby allowing the longitudinal axis of said bore to form an acute angle with the vertical and to facilitate the draw of said firearm;

said clamp means including at least two cl'amp arms horizontally spaced from each other when said mount is clamped on said support;

one of said clamp arms forming an upwardly extending lip, and the other of said clamp arms forming a downwardly extending lip thereby allowing said support to become easily insertable in and out of said clamp means;

one of said clips engaging the trigger guard of said firearm, and the other of said clips supporting the top portion of said firearm; and

a third clip engaging the barrel of said firearm.

10. The mount of claim 9 wherein,

said clamp arms are twisted relative to the vertical independence on the contour of the wearers body. 

1. A firearm mount for attaching a sidearm to a waistline support, said mount comprising: an elongated, substantially flat pedestal having at its lower end an upwardly extending lip adapted to snugly fit inside the bore of the barrel of said firearm; at least two, laterally extending, substantially flat clips, one on each side of said pedestal; said two clips and said lip forming a triangular suspension for said firearm when inserted into said mount; and clamp means connected to said pedestal for releasably clamping said mount on said support, the longitudinal axis of said clamp means and the longitudinal axis of said pedestal forming an acute angle Alpha , thereby allowing said firearm to be drawn from either a sitting or standing position.
 2. The mount of claim 1 wherein, said clamp means includes at least two rigid clamp arms horizontally spaced from each other when said mount is clamped on said support.
 3. The mount of claim 2 wherein at least one of said clips is formed from a single, flat metal strip formiNg an integral extensions of said pedestal.
 4. The mount of claim 2 wherein, said clips are vertically displaced from each other relative to the longitudinal axis of said pedestal.
 5. The mount of claim 2 wherein, one of said clamp arms forms an upwardly extending lip, and the other of said clamp arms forms a downwardly extending lip thereby allowing said support to become easily insertable in and out of said clamp means without detaching said support from the waistline of the sidearm wearer.
 6. The mount of claim 5 wherein, at least a portion of said pedestal is offset from the longitudinal to accommodate a particular configuration of said firearm.
 7. The mount of claim 6 wherein, said firearm is a revolver, one of said clips engages the barrel of said revolver, and the other of said clips supports the portion of said revolver below its cylinder.
 8. The mount of claim 2 wherein, one of said clips snugly fits around the barrel of said firearm, and the other of said clips engages the trigger guard of said firearm.
 9. A firearm mount for attaching a sidearm to a waistline support, said mount comprising: an elongated pedestal having at its lower end an upwardly extending lip adapted to snugly fit inside the bore of the barrel of said firearm; at least two laterally extending clips, one on each side of said pedestal; said two clips and said lip forming a triangular suspension for said firearm when inserted into said mount; clamp means connected to said pedestal for releasably clamping said mount on said support; said pedestal being connected at an angle relative to said clamp means, thereby allowing the longitudinal axis of said bore to form an acute angle with the vertical and to facilitate the draw of said firearm; said clamp means including at least two clamp arms horizontally spaced from each other when said mount is clamped on said support; one of said clamp arms forming an upwardly extending lip, and the other of said clamp arms forming a downwardly extending lip thereby allowing said support to become easily insertable in and out of said clamp means; one of said clips engaging the trigger guard of said firearm, and the other of said clips supporting the top portion of said firearm; and a third clip engaging the barrel of said firearm.
 10. The mount of claim 9 wherein, said clamp arms are twisted relative to the vertical independence on the contour of the wearer''s body. 